BABY NAMES AUSTRALIA 2015 [email protected] 02 8824 3422 mccrindle.com.au [email protected] 02 8824 3422 mccrindle.com.au BABY NAMES AUSTRALIA 2015
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TOP 10 BABY NAMES
Oliver most popular in the States but William more popular in the Territories.
Keeping the top spot from 2013 is Oliver, the top boy baby name in Australia for 2014 having overtaken Jack and William which were 1st in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Oliver was the top boys’ name in all 6 states (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS) while William was the top boy baby name in the 2 territories (NT, ACT).
There were 230 more instances of Oliver than William, an increase on the margin of 37 from 2013. In 2014, there were 2,189 boys named Oliver, 1,959 named William and 1,841 named Jack which is a decrease for both William and Jack on 2013.
Olivia, with 1,796 occurrences is the top girl baby name in Australia for 2014, taking the top spot from Charlotte which is now in 2nd place. Charlotte was the most popular girls’ name from 2011-2013 but has now fallen behind by 123 occurrences.
Olivia was the most popular baby girls’ name in the three most populous states (NSW, VIC, QLD) while Charlotte was top in SA, TAS and NT with the names Emily and Amelia being the most popular in WA and the ACT respectively.
Around 1 in 10 Australian babies last year were given one of the Top 10 baby names; a total of 30,581 babies. There were 2,189 boys named Oliver and 1,796 girls named Olivia last year.
Olivia takes top spot after Charlotte’s 3 year reign
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Top 10 Boys’ Name Trends and Insights
Although Jack is no longer the top boy baby name, it still holds in 3rd place and sitting in 5th place is Jackson/Jaxon/Jaxson. This underlines popularity of the name combining these names would put it in 1st place, almost 1,200 occurrences more than Oliver.
9 out of the top 10 boys’ names held onto their top 10 ranking with Cooper falling 7 spots from 10th in 2013 down to 17th in 2014 and Alex/Alexander rising from 15th to 9th during the same time period. None of top 5 names changed positions but James and Ethan both dropped 2 places with Thomas and Lucas both rising up the chart.
Top 10 Girls’ Name Trends and Insights
All of the top 10 girls’ names from 2013 have held on to a top 10 ranking in 2014. Olivia, Mia, Amelia, Sofia/Sophia and Sophie all improved on their 2013 ranking with Charlotte, Ava, Emily and Ruby being the ones which have dropped. Chloe was the only name to retain the same ranking.
8 New Boys’ and 9 New Girls’ Names Enter the Top 100
In 2014, 8 new boys’ names and 9 new girls’ names have entered the top 100 list. The names Harvey, Gabriel, Muhammad, Phoenix, Theodore, Maxwell, Carter and Fletcher have entered the list for the boys’ at the expense of Jesse, Seth, Parker, Darcy, Jett, Lewis and Jonathan.
As for the girls; Frankie, Eleanor, Emilia, Hazel, Lexi, Elise, Sadie, Natalie and Lacey have entered the top 100 with; Samantha, Eve, Daisy, Nevaeh, Skye, Indigo, Caitlin, Leah and Mikayla dropping out of the list.
Significant Leaps and Declines
Within the boys’ top 100 list, there are 18 names which have bettered their 2013 rank by 10 or more spots, 11 which have dropped 10 or more spots and 8 which have been unchanged.
Maxwell was the most improved boys’ name, climbing 41 spots to 97th followed by Fletcher, up 26 spots to 99th and Harvey, up 20 spots to 84th. The biggest declines were Braxton, falling 31 spots down to 77th followed by Mitchell, down 22 spots to 83rd and Nathaniel, down 21 spots to squeeze into the list in 100th position.
Rank
77831006080685222555773
97
+10
+10
+10
+11
+11
+12
+13
+14 -10
+15 -10
+15 -10
+17 -10
+17 -11
+18 -14
+19 -16
+19 -17
+20 -21
+26 -22
+41 -31
9984866142725854409639479059984334
RankName NameChange ChangeMaxwell
Fletcher
Harvey
Gabriel
Austin
George
Hamish
Kai
Jordan
Archer
Theodore
Patrick
Edward
Muhammad
Luca
Carter
Nate
Archie
Nathan
Luke
Zachary
Jake
Joshua
Nicholas
Beau
Connor
Nathaniel
Mitchell
Braxton
Biggest Rises (10+) Biggest Declines (-10 or more)
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In the Top 100 girls’ names, there were only 8 names which lost 10 or more spots and 13 which gained 10 or more with 10 keeping their position from 2013. Hazel gained 63 spots to be 88th followed by Eleanor which increased 31 places to be 84th and Ariana, up 27 spots to 73rd. Chelsea and Amelie both dropped 15 places to be 64th and 95th respectively and Mackenzie and Eliza both dropped 14 places to be 56th and 81st respectively.
Peaked NamesA number of the names which have dropped significantly have also been on the decline for a number of years, having reached peak popularity a few years back.
Some of the boys’ peak names include Connor, which peaked in the early 2000s, Cooper (2009) and Riley (2009). For girls, Chelsea (2009), Amelie (2009) and Hayley (2008) have peaked.
64
95
56
81
54
49
47
96
-15
-15
-14
-14
-13
-11
-10
-10
Chelsea
Amelie
Mackenzie
Eliza
Sarah
Jessica
Summer
Amber
Rank RankName NameChange Change
33
77
78
44
51
90
41
97
85
65
73
84
88
+10
+10
+32
+12
+12
+13
+16
+19
+21
+26
+27
+31
+63
Evelyn
Ayla
Lacey
Ellie
Maya
Lexi
Aria
Elise
Emilia
Elsie
Ariana
Eleanor
Hazel
Biggest Rises (10+) Biggest Declines (-10 or more)
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The ‘Hundred-Year Return’
Baby-naming in Australia is influenced by the traditional over the trendy.
There is a ‘Hundred-Year Return’ theme taking place, with many of the top names of today also amongst the top names a century ago, while names of a few decades ago have fallen out of favour.
Many of today’s most common baby names were popular in the early 20th century and have seen a significant resurgence in the early 21st century. This is illustrated by the NSW Government in an interactive baby names data visualisation. (http://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/popular-baby-names)
William is an example of the ‘hundred-year’ return, having ranked 2nd overall in NSW in the 1910s and ranking in top place again in NSW from 2009 onwards.
Jack climbed up to 5th place in the 1920s before seeing a steep decline from the 1940s to 1970s, with a marked resurgence between the year 2000 and 2004.
Grace was a moderately popular girls’ name at the turn of the 20th century, coming to a near decline from the 1910s to 1970s but climbing significantly in popularity since the 1980s.
(http://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/popular-baby-names)
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It’s all in the ending (and the beginning)
The rise of gentle, softer-sounding names for girls and firmer sounding names for boys is an ongoing trend with baby names in Australia.
90% of the girls’ names (18) in the Top 20 list end with a vowel or ‘y’, with half (10) of these ending with the letter ‘a’, producing the gentle ‘ah’ finish. Only 2 of the Top 20 names ends with a consonant – Maddison/Madison and Scarlett.
On the boy’s list, however, 90% of the top 20 names end with a consonant sound! ‘N’ is most popular ending consonant for 4 names in the Top 20, with just two names in the Top 20 boys’ list – Noah and Henry – featuring a soft ending.
Additionally, popular girls’ names are not only most likely to end in a vowel but to begin with one too. 21 of the top 50 girls’ names end in a vowel compared to just 11 of the top 50 boys’ names.
Spelling it out
Not content in simply finding a distinctive name for their newborn, parents are often turning to the use of apos-trophes, hyphens, or emphasised phonetic spellings to make their baby’s name unique. In our Top 100 list, we have combined the occurrences of names which are phonetically identical but unique in their spelling.
Parents tend to take greater liberty in amending their baby girl’s name than boys’name, featuring the following examples in the Top 100 list:
• Sofia/Sophia – 7th • Lily/Lilly – 11th • Madison/Maddison – 16th • Isabel/Isabelle – 22nd • Mila/Milla – 38th • Madeleine/Madeline – 50th
The presence of double letters is also more frequent in popular girls’ names, with 29 girls’ names containing double letters compared to 12 boys’ names in the Top 100.
Girls – Charlotte, Lilly, Ella, Isabella, Maddison, Sienna, Scarlett, Isabelle, Emma, Hannah, Willow, Annabelle, Milla, Savannah, Ellie, Stella, Summer, Poppy, Jessica, Holly, Addison, Bella, Anna, Alyssa, Molly, Aaliyah, Lillian, Harriet and Pippa,
Boys – William, Harrison, Cooper, Isaac, Harry, Flynn, Matthew, Connor, Finn, Mitchell, Muhammad and Maxwell.
Gendered Names Triumph Once Again
Only one name in the Top 100 appears on both the girls’ and boys’ list in its unchanged form – Charlie (18th on the boys’ list and 74th on the girls’ list). Charlie is commonly considered to be interchangeable between the two sexes.
While all of the names except Charlie are most often distinctly boys’ or girls’ names, a number of girls’ names from the Top 100 can be interchanged for boys’ names – these include Harper, Jade, and Mackenzie. In similar fashion, parents are increasingly using popular boys’ names when naming their daughters – names such as Riley, Jayden, Tyler, Leo, Dylan, Hayden, Jordan, Luca, Ashton, Kai, Bailey and Alex are often used for girls.
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Boys’ Names Feature less Syllables
Parents are choosing longer, more flowing names for their daughters and shorter, more solid-sounding names for their sons.
A total of 9 girls’ names have 4 syllables in them while only Alexander has 4 syllables in the boys’ top 100 list.
Boys are almost three times as likely as girls to have a single-syllable name and girls are twice as likely to have three syllables in their names.
There are 9 girls’ names in the Top 100 with 4 syllables (Amelia, Isabella, Elizabeth, Indiana, Ariana, Alexandra, Penelope, Victoria and Emilia) compared to just one for boys (Alexander).
Shorter names win outJack (3rd) beats out Jackson (5th) just as it beats out John (93rd). Archie (34th) beats Archer (40th) and Max (16th) is more popular than Maxwell (97th). Even for girls currently Lily (11th) is more popular than Lillian (86th)
and Ella (13th) outranks Isabella (14th) and Isabelle (22nd).
Australia – State verses State
Oliver topped the list in all 6 states with William coming out on top in the two territories. Jack was placed 2nd in 6 states and territories. Within all the states and territories, the top three places were taken by the names; Oliver, William, Jack or Noah.
NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT
Oliver Oliver Oliver Oliver Oliver Oliver
Oliver
William William
Harrison
William William William
William William
William MasonLucas
Lucas
Noah
Noah Noah
Noah
Noah
Noah
Jack
Jack Jack Jack Jack
Jack
Jack
Jack
James Thomas Thomas
Thomas Lachlan
Hunter James
Syllables1 2 3 4
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Olivia was placed 1st in 3 states; New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland with Charlotte topping the list in 3 states and territories as well. There were no names which placed in the top 5 across all the states and territories.
NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT
Olivia Olivia Olivia
Olivia Olivia
Olivia
Olivia
Charlotte
Charlotte Charlotte
Charlotte
Charlotte
Charlotte Charlotte
Charlotte
Amelia
Amelia
Sophie
Amelia
Amelia
Ava
Ava
Chloe
Chloe
Chloe
Ruby
Ruby
Sophie Sophie
Sophie
Emily
Emily
Grace AvaMia
Mia Mia
Mia
Isla
Lily
Celebrity Influences
Actors, actresses, sports and music stars continue to significantly influence the popularity of babies within Australia.
Influences from popular culture are seen among Australia’s most popular baby names, with characters such as Emily and Jack from the television series Revenge making it to the Top 10 list, Braxton from Home and Away in 46th place.
Popular movies such as Ruby Sparks (2012) and Noah (2014) also feature some of today’s Top 10 names.
Penelope (rising from 81st to 79th) is one of the children of reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian (born 2012).
Harper (rising to 24th from 27th) is the daughter of David and Victoria Beckham (2011).
Willow (steady at 29th) is the daughter of pop musician Pink (2011) and the name of Will Smith’s 13-year-old daughter.
Noah (remaining strong in 4th place) was born to Michael Bublé in 2013.
Elijah was chosen by Elton John for his second son in 2013 (rising to 30th from 36th) and Lincoln (rising to 48th up from 50th) was born to actress Kristen Bell (2013).
Olive (rising to 76th from 77th) is the daughter of Drew Barrymore (2012)
Liam, Harry and Louis (rising up to 11th from 14th, 27th from 28th and 71st from 74th) who are 3 of the 4 members of the popular boy band One Direction.
Ariana (rising up to 73rd from 100th) is the name of a popular pop singer, Ariana Grande.
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Place names
Indeed Maddison (16th) outranks Victoria (80th) and Georgia (31st) and Indiana (60th) are ahead of Eden (68th). For boys overseas locations still dominate with Jordan (54th), Austin (61st) and Phoenix (94th)
outranking Australian locations (with the exception of Hunter, 21st).
Religious influences remain strong and ongoing
The following Biblical names have increased in popularity since 2013: Thomas (6th up from 7th), Samuel (15th up from 16th), Levi (28th up from 29th), Aaron (92th up from 94th), David (91st up from 95th), Caleb (67th up from 72nd), Alexander (9th up from 15th), Elijah (30th up from 36th) and Gabriel (86th up from 105th).
Arabic names also feature on the list, with Layla at 32nd (down from 30th) and Ali rose to 87th place (up from 93rd). Muhammad also re-entered the list this year, coming in at 90th, up from 101st in 2013.
A Royal Influence
Prince William’s popularity first placed William in the Top 10 in 2001 and the name’s popularity has grown significantly since then. In 2011, the year of the royal wedding, William became the most popular boy’s name Australia-wide and maintained this position until 2012 when Oliver took the top spot. While William is the 2nd most popular name overall, it is still the most popular boy’s name in the ACT, and the NT.
The birth of Prince George (George Alexander Louis) in July 2013 has positively impacted the use of George by Australian parents, increasing George’s rank from 71st in 2012 to 60th in 2013 and 42nd in 2014 – its highest ranking since the 1950s. Alexander’s popularity has also been impacted with an increase in rank from 15th to 9th in 2014.
Despite having only influenced parents for a period of less than 18 months to the end of the 2014 calendar year, the number of baby boys named George has dramatically increased, from 364 in 2012 to 640 in 2014.
The original category of celebrities – the royals – have not only captured the loyalty and affections of modern Australians but continue to significantly influence their choice in baby names.
While Australia has seen an increase of baby names that are creatively spelled pronounced, the Top 100 list also shows a strong pull towards more traditional names with Biblical origins, especially in the boys’ list.
More than 1 in every 4 boys’ names (27) in the Top 100 list are derived from the Bible, including four of the Top 10 names – Noah (4th), Thomas (6th), James (8th) and Ethan (10th). Less common Biblical names such as Caleb, Eli, Levi, Nathaniel, Felix, Jesse, Abigail, Phoebe, and Chloe are also present on the list.
Place names are still a source of inspiration and while Australian places are rising the ranks, many (such as Bronte, Avalon, Brighton and Arcadia) are yet to enter the Top 100, and others like Adelaide are now out of the Top 100.
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17 of 21 current royal names are top baby names too
Of the 21 members of the current British royal family, 17 have names which are in the Top 100 lists. Indeed the number of royal names in the Top 100 is an indication of the influence the British royals still have on babynaming trends, and this trend is looking strong, particularly with the influence of the next generation of royals.
Queen Elizabeth Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Catherine Elizabeth
Henry Charles Albert David
George Alexander Louis
Charles Phillip Arthur George
Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise
Andrew Albert Christian Edward
Beatrice Elizabeth Mary
Eugenie Victoria Helena
Edward Antony Richard Louis
William Arthur Philip Louis
Prince of Wales
Princess Anne
Prince Andrew
Prince Edward
Prince William
Duchess of Cambridge
Prince Harry
Prince George
Princess Beatrice
Princess Eugenie
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Sources
Baby Names Australia is profuced from a comprehensive analysis of all of the registered baby names across the 8 Births, Deaths and Marriages offices in Australia and in New Zealand. The data which we have analysed has been provided by the following government departments:
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths, & Marriages
NSW Government (‘Hundred-Year Return’ Graphs)http://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/popular-baby-names ACT Births, Deaths, & Marriages
Births, Deaths, Marriages Victoria
SA Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Office
QLD Births, Deaths, and Marriages
WA Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
TAS Births, Deaths, and Marriages
NT Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages
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TOP 100 GIRLS’ NAMES AUSTRALIA 2015
1796 595 268
191
141
1673 556 256
188
141
541 251
182
131
537 254
182
130
528 241
159
128
501 236
159
125
479 234
151
116
81
470 230
151
111
77
449 222
151
110
71
440 209
149
97
65
430430425
420419418
417
410
392
391379
358355
323
317311
306
306
298
298286
283281
1551
1488
1450
13951357
1349
13411283
12521213
118511771066
964
943
942
873
864
863
845
836794792
781
755
703
681
668
664619611
Rank Rank RankName Name NameOccurences Occurences Occurences
18
67
66
61
67
33
Olivia
Charlotte
Mia
Ava
Amelia
Emily
Sofia/Sophia
Sophie
Chloe
Ruby
Lily/Lilly
Grace
Ella
Isabella
Isla
Madison/Maddison
Sienna
Zoe
Scarlett
Matilda
Ivy
Isabel/Isabelle
Evie
Harper
Lucy
Emma
Hannah
Zara
Willow
Abigail
Georgie
Layla
Evelyn
Eva
Imogen
Jasmine
Annabelle
Mila/Milla
Alexis
Savannah
Aria
Alice
Audrey
Elle
Violet
Stella
Summer
Poppy
Jessica
Maya
Holly
Elizabeth
Sarah
Addison
Mackenzie
Bella
Anna
Phoebe
Indiana
Paige
Alyssa
Lola
Chelsea
Elsie
Piper
Rose
Eden
Hayley
Claire
Eloise
Molly
Ariana
Charlie
Alexandra
Olive
Ayla
Frankie
Penelope
Victoria
Eliza
Lara
Aallyah
Eleanor
Emillia
Lillian
Harriet
Hazel
Heidi
Lexi
Jade
Indie
Pippa
Peyton
Amelie
Amber
Elise
Sadie
Natalie
Lacey
Madelaine/Madeline
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TOP 100 BOYS’ NAMES AUSTRALIA 2015
Top 100 Australian Boys NamesOliver
William
Jack
Noah
Thomas
Lucas
James
Alex/Alexander
Ethan
Liam
Lachlan
Harrison
Mason
Samuel
Max
Cooper
Charlie
Jacob
Henry
Hunter
Joshua
Isaac
Benjamin
Xavier
Oscar
Harry
Levi
Ryan
Elijah
Hudson
Leo
Daniel
Archie
Riley
Logan
Sebastian
Jayden
Patrick
Archer
Tyler
George
Nate
Flynn
Blake
Aiden
Edward
Lincoln
Eli
Michael
Matthew
Jake
Dylan
Jordan
Zachary
Chase
Luke
Kai
Luca
Connor
Austin
Finn
Hugo
Joseph
Ashton
Hayden
Caleb
Nicholas
Angus
Ryder
Louis
Hamish
Nathan
Jasper
Toby
Bailey
Braxton
Owen
Adam
Beau
Charles
Marcus
Mitchell
Harvey
Christian
Gabriel
Ali
Dominic
Felix
Muhammad
David
Aaron
John
Phoenix
Anthony
Theodore
Maxwell
Carter
Fletcher
Nathaniel
Jackson/Jaxon/Jaxson
123
18
33 66
61
672189 7551959 7451841 7351668 714
1536 704
1447 6641402 6501401 6421349 6401257 6251188 6191187 6001158 5541139 5501104 5491083 5201055 5101054 4971041 4891038 481992 480988 480
963 478939 466
906 461
884 453874 447867 440815 437
792 432
786 401783 394763 394
388
392
371324
316
302
298294
293
291284
284279
263263242
226
220
217
216
214
213
213
204196193
186
182
180
179
173
156155151
Rank Rank RankName Name NameOccurences Occurences Occurences